Long train delays as wide storm front batters south-east Queensland

By Felicity Caldwell and Jocelyn Garcia

UpdatedMarch 15, 2019 — 10.10pmfirst published at 3.16pm

Thousands of homes and businesses across south-east Queensland were left without power on Friday night after severe thunderstorms dumped more than 100 millimetres of rain in some areas and played havoc with public transport.

As many as 26,000 locations were left in the dark at one point and more than 14,000 were still disconnected at 10pm.

The Logan City Council area was the worst affected with more than 5000 disconnections, but Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, the Moreton Bay region and the Redlands each had in excess of 1000 properties without power.

The heavy rain and wind delayed flights and left buses running an hour late and all train services delayed by as much as two hours or cancelled altogether.

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The Bureau of Meteorology cancelled a storm warning, which had earlier predicted "giant" hail, about 8.30pm after a stormfront at one point stretching from the Sunshine Coast to the northern Gold Coast dumped more than 100 millimetres of rain in an hour at Delaneys Creek, north of Brisbane.

At 10pm, Translink continued to report two-hour delays on all lines.

Earlier

All south-east Queensland rail lines are delayed up to two hours and Brisbane City Council buses are delayed up to one hour as a wide front of severe thunderstorms hits south-east Queensland.

Severe thunderstorms were likely to produce heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding and damaging winds in the warning area in the next several hours, according to a weather warning at 6pm on Friday.

A man is seen walking his dog at the Kangaroo Point cliffs as storm clouds gather over the Brisbane CBD.Credit:AAP/Darren England.

They were forecast to hit Beaudesert, Beenleigh and Cleveland by 5.50pm and Moreton Bay and its slands by 6.20pm.

It warned heavy rainfall, possibly leading to flash flooding, was likely, after 105 millimetres of rain fell at Delaneys Creek, 86 millimetres at Kobble Creek and 76 millimetres at Kallangur, all north of Brisbane in the Moreton Bay region.

It warned that at 2.55pm, very dangerous thunderstorms were detected on the weather radar near Mulgowie, Grandchester, Rathdowney and Rosevale.

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Very dangerous thunderstorms with giant hail, destructive wind gusts and intense rainfall were forecast to affect Laidley, Kooralbyn and Rosewood by 3.25pm and Ipswich, Beaudesert and Gatton by 3.55pm.

Other severe thunderstorms were detected on the weather radar near Lake Samsonvale, Dayboro, Kincora and Mount Nebo.

They were forecast to affect Pittsworth, Fernvale and Samford by 3.30pm and Strathpine, the area south of Toowoomba and south-west of Toowoomba by 4pm.

Damaging, heavy rainfall that might lead to flash flooding and large hail was likely.